1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hockey training aids and, more specifically, to a hockey training aid made of a hockey blade and a puck tethered to the hockey blade so that a novice hockey player can practice stickhandling, puckhandling and self-passing drills.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention fills a need for a hockey training aid which can be used in off-ice settings, e.g., floor or street, to practice stick-handling and puck control skills in hockey. A puck is tethered to the lower portion of the blade of the hockey stick so that the puck can be repeatedly struck by the blade to conduct such stick-handling and puck control drills as short and wide dribbles, receiving passes, deflecting shots, etc. The puck is tethered to the blade with a bead that is movable along a channel in the lower portion of the blade. Also, the blade includes an additional hole to attach an elastic string to a puck for using in self-passing drills.
Furthermore, the blade can also include a riveted side piece that encloses the channel containing the movable bead.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,555 issued to Tremblay, on Oct. 29, 1974, teaches a hockey blade which can be used to practice with balls, e.g., for field hockey practice. The ball is trapped within a U-shaped enclosure created by the shape of the blade. The blade can be made of wood or plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,917, issued to Beale on Feb. 4, 1975, teaches a hockey blade with a tethered puck in which the blade includes several apertures to which the puck can be selectively attached with an elastic cord. The particular hole to which the elastic string is attached to the blade determines the area of the blade being drilled, i.e., toe area versus heel area.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,797, issued to Sarrasin on May 17, 1977, teaches a hockey blade in which a puck is tethered to a fishing-rod-like spool and reel arrangement on the shaft of the stick that acts as a shock absorber cushioning the forces exerted on the A elastic tether when the puck is struck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,419, issued to Pellegrino on Sept. 15, 1978, teaches a hockey blade with a puck tethered to a C-shaped clamp on top of the blade. The tether in this patent has at least two sections, one of which is intended to break readily when a known predetermined breaking point is reached.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,055, issued to McCarthy et al. on Jun. 9, 1992, teaches a hockey stick with an easily attachable and detachable tethered puck. A spring clip attaches the tether to the top of the blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,945, issued to Todd et al. on Oct. 6, 1998, teaches a hockey stick with a tethered puck in which the tether is attached to the stick using a hook-and-loop fastener, e.g., Velcro(copyright) hook-and-loop.
Canadian Patent No. 2,160,746 teaches a puck elastically tethered to a linear guide positioned between a shooting station and a target (goal). When struck, the puck is limited in its travel between the two ends of the guide.
Canadian Patent No. 2,193,517 teaches a puck attached to the sides of a goal using two tethers, one to each side. This arrangement is useful for practice in making or deflecting shots at the goal by offensive players and by goaltenders.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a hockey training aid solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The invention is directed to a hockey training aid. More particularly, the training aid is a hockey blade tethered to a hockey puck by a string. The string is attached at one end to the puck and at the other end to a bead which is freely movable along a channel located inside the lower edge of the blade. The channel includes a slit along its length that permits the string to move freely with the bead as the puck is struck with the blade. In addition, the lower edge of the blade includes a lengthwise horizontal notch that extends between the heel and the toe of the blade along the lower edge of the blade, permitting the puck to be handled on both sides of the blade (i.e., forehand and backhand) without the blade interfering with the back-and-forth movement of the string as the bead travels within the channel.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a hockey training aid in which a hockey puck is tethered to a hockey blade and permits the user to practice using the blade in either forehand or backhand positions.
It is another object of the invention to provide a hockey training aid as described above in which the blade contains a channel and corresponding slit along the length of the lower edge of the blade, the string being connected to the blade by having a bead at one end of the string that is freely movable within the channel while the string is freely movable along the slit.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.